President-Elect Biden's American Rescue Plan Treats "Paid Leave As a Foundational Requirement for Rescue, Relief and Recovery"
Statement of Vicki Shabo, Senior Fellow for Paid Leave Policy and Strategy at New America's Better Life Lab
Press Release
Jan. 14, 2021
President-Elect Biden's American Rescue Plan proposes to reinstate emergency paid sick and family leave provisions that Congress failed to renew in December and expand on those original protections. The Biden-Harris plan would guarantee all U.S. workers at least 14 weeks of emergency paid sick and family and medical leave for COVID-19 health and caregiving purposes through September 2021, with reimbursement for smaller businesses and state and local government employers.
The following statement can be attributed to Vicki Shabo, Senior Fellow for Paid Leave Policy and Strategy for the Better Life Lab at New America:
“It’s exciting to see President-Elect Biden’s American Rescue plan treat paid leave as a foundational requirement for rescue, relief and recovery. It will help businesses open, workers get vaccinated, and get kids back to school – while ensuring that those who are sick can isolate to keep others safe and speed their own recovery and that those who need to care for loved ones will not lose their jobs or jeopardize their families’ ability to meet basic expenses.
"Paid leave to quarantine, isolate, receive a COVID diagnosis and, soon, a vaccine ,will help stop the spread of the virus. Last year, emergency paid leave prevented more than 400 COVID cases per state per day – a critical tool to stopping the surge that Congress irresponsibly allowed to lapse just as contagion was soaring in December.
"Additionally, ensuring workers the ability to care for themselves, their children and other loved ones responds to the needs of millions of working people who have struggled with work and care over these last long ten months, especially women and workers of color, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
"Congress must act swiftly after Inauguration Day to pass the American Rescue Plan into law.”